Waterproof gloves are used for a variety of purposes such as skiing or motorcycling. It has become state of the art for some time now to make gloves windproof and at the same time breathable by using a water and air permeable material, e.g. leather or a textile material, as the outer shell material and by providing a functional layer consisting of a waterproof, yet water vapour permeable material, e.g. microporous polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), on the inner side of the shell material. According to present common practice, the functional layer is either in the form of a so-called insert, i.e. a glove-like inner component, and is loosely mounted on the inside of the glove shell material such that the insert is not pierced by sewing seams in the shell material, or the glove is made from a laminate comprising an outer material layer and a functional layer and the seams of the glove which go through the functional layer are sealed by a waterproof seam sealing tape on the inside of the functional layer. Such gloves remain breathable despite their waterproofness so that perspiration moisture forming inside the glove can escape through the functional layer and the shell material.
A glove may be waterproof because its shell material is waterproof. Alternatively, such a glove can also be rendered waterproof by a state of the art construction wherein the shell material is air-permeable and water permeable and another layer is arranged on the back side of the shell material which consists of a waterproof material and which preferably is a waterproof, yet water vapour permeable functional layer. Materials suitable for the functional layer comprise PTFE as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,953,566 and 4,187,390; expanded PTFE provided with hydrophilic impregnating agents and/or layers as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,041; breathable polyurethane layers; or elastomers, such as copolyetherester and laminates thereof, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,725,481 and 4,493,870.
Presently existing waterproof gloves are usually worn together with coat or jacket like garments whose sleeve ends project over the shaft edge of the gloves such that the area of the glove shaft with the hand insertion side end and the area of the sleeve end facing the hand overlap. The area of the sleeve overlapping with the shaft end may either be worn outside of the glove or inside the glove. Both configurations entail the shortcoming that water in the form of rain or snow can get inside the glove. If such a glove is worn by a motorcyclist, for example, one can proceed upon the assumption that the hand wearing the glove is in an angular position somewhere in between a horizontally extended and a vertically hanging hand. If water falls onto the sleeve and glove, in particular rain water or water whirled into the air from the road by vehicles ahead, the headwind drives this water along the outside of the shaft upwards towards the shaft end. When the motorcyclist is standing still, e.g. at red traffic lights, the water will run down the outside of the sleeve and the shaft. If the sleeve is worn outside of the shaft, the water runs off without running into the glove, as long as the motorcyclist is at a standstill, but otherwise it is driven between the inside of the sleeve and the outside of the shaft over the shaft end or the shaft edge from where it can reach the interior of the glove. If the sleeve is worn inside of the shaft of the glove, water runs between the outside of the sleeve and the inside of the shaft while the motorcyclist is standing and, again, reaches the interior of the glove.